Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma has resigned, effectively halting impeachment proceedings initiated against him by the Lok Sabha following corruption allegations.
The Judges Inquiry Committee, formed to investigate allegations against Justice Yashwant Varma, has submitted its report to the Lok Sabha Speaker. The report, concerning allegations that led to impeachment proceedings, will be presented before both Houses of Parliament.
Justice Yashwant Varma of the Allahabad High Court has resigned amid impeachment proceedings sparked by the discovery of burnt currency at his residence, raising questions about judicial conduct and accountability.
Ruling out his resignation, President Pervez Musharraf has decided to face impeachment proceedings to be initiated against him by Pakistan's ruling coalition and vowed to defend himself before Parliament. Awami Muslim League leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close confidant of Musharraf, said the President was determined to fight back.
Thirty-six former judges have called on people, including parliamentarians, to denounce opposition leaders' move to impeach Madras High Court judge Justice G R Swaminathan, saying such an attempt would undermine democracy and judicial independence.
The move comes after the letter that four senior-most judges of the Supreme Court had earlier written stating that there was danger to the independence of judiciary.
Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation.
The opposition is likely to submit a notice in both Houses of Parliament to remove Gyanesh Kumar as the chief election commissioner, marking a historic first. This article details the legal procedure for removing a CEC, including the roles of Parliament, the Supreme Court, and the investigation process.
Opposition parties in India have submitted notices seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, citing concerns over his appointment, conduct, and alleged manipulation of electoral processes.
Opposition MPs in India have moved notices in Parliament seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, accusing him of bias, misconduct, and acting under the influence of the executive.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla will stay away from House proceedings until a no-confidence motion against him is resolved. This follows a no-confidence notice submitted by Congress, alleging partisan conduct.
The remarks were made by the bench which refused to agree with the submission made on behalf of Justice Varma that the deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha had no power to reject a motion and, under the Judges (Inquiry) Act of 1968, only the Speaker and the chairman have the power to accept or reject a motion against a judge.
Opposition MPs have submitted notices in both Houses of Parliament seeking a motion for the removal of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, alleging partisan conduct and obstruction of electoral fraud investigations.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla has reconstituted a three-member committee to investigate the potential removal of Justice Yashwant Varma following the recovery of cash from his residence. The committee has been granted a three-month extension.
'If we stay silent now, we betray the very foundation of justice in this country.'
'The jail staff told me Kasab was served only jail food and not biryani.' 'They told me that Kasab was beaten regularly after court proceedings.' 'And they filled Kasab's bottle with urine so that whenever he felt thirsty he used to drink urine.'
Officials aware of the procedure to appoint and remove Supreme Court and high court judges pointed out that while defending his case before lawmakers in any of the House, Justice Varma can announce that he is quitting and his verbal statement will be considered as his resignation.
By all available indications, the White House drafted a face-saving note and handed it, ready-made, to Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was supposed to then post it in the guise of a plea urging Trump to extend the deadline by two weeks 'to allow diplomacy to run its course'. Trump would then graciously accept Pakistan's 'request' and declare a ceasefire. Sharif dutifully posted the message on X. Except that he, or whoever was handling the account, forgot to delete the tell-tale first line visible in the edit history: 'Draft - Pakistan's PM Message on X'. Prem Panicker's must read blog on the Iran War.
'If the parliamentary committee's report does not find substantiated charges, the process ends.'
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday Allahabad high court judge Yashwant Varma's plea seeking invalidation of a report by an in-house inquiry panel which found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row.
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Wednesday underlined the government's resolve to take all political parties on board in moving an impeachment motion against Justice Yashwant Varma, saying corruption in the judiciary cannot be approached through a 'political prism'.
The Supreme Court dismissed Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma's plea seeking invalidation of a report that found him guilty of misconduct in the cash discovery row.
Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna has recommended the impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge Yashwant Varma following an investigation into a cash discovery incident at his residence. The recommendation follows a report by a Supreme Court-appointed committee that confirmed allegations of cash discovery against Justice Varma. The CJI's recommendation is based on the established in-house procedure for dealing with allegations against judges of constitutional courts.
The Supreme Court questioned Justice Yashwant Varma's conduct regarding an in-house inquiry panel report that found him guilty of misconduct in a cash discovery row. The court raised concerns about his delayed challenge to the inquiry and the implications of the panel's recommendations.
The Supreme Court questioned Justice Yashwant Varma regarding his plea to invalidate an in-house inquiry panel report that indicted him after a large amount of burnt cash was discovered at his official residence during his time as a Delhi High Court judge.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla admitted a notice for the removal of High Court judge Justice Yashwant Varma and constituted a three-member committee to probe charges against him.
Chief Justice of India KG Balakrishnan has defended Karnataka High Court Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, who is facing impeachment proceedings, saying the allegations against the CJ surfaced only after a proposal for his elevation to the Supreme Court.When queried on whether he thought that there was a vilifying campaign going on against Justice Dinakaran, the CJI said, "There was not a single allegation when he was a judge of the Madras high court."
Members of several opposition parties in India have initiated proceedings to impeach Allahabad High Court Judge Shekhar Kumar Yadav for his alleged controversial remarks at a recent event. The impeachment motion, signed by 55 opposition MPs, cites the judge's speech at a Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) function, where he allegedly made provocative statements on a uniform civil code and the law working according to the majority. The Supreme Court has taken note of the controversy and sought details from the Allahabad High Court.
For the first time in its history, the Rajya Sabha has turned into a courtroom to hear the impeachment proceedings of Calcutta High Court Justice Soumitra Sen. Sen has been accused of misconduct and misappropriation of large sums of money which he received in his capacity as receiver before his elevation to the high court. In an impassioned speech, Sen had on Wednesday defended himself and replied to the charges made against him.
Captain Jainarayan Prasad Nishad, a member of the Lok Sabha from Bihar, has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar against a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India. In the letter to the Speaker, Captain Nishad has expressed his 'determination' to initiate impeachment proceeding against the judge.
The Allahabad High Court Bar Association has begun an indefinite strike to protest the proposed transfer of Delhi HC judge Yashwant Varma, who is under investigation after a large amount of cash was found at his residence. The Oudh Bar Association (OBA) of the Lucknow bench of the High Court has also condemned the transfer, calling for impeachment proceedings against Justice Varma. Both bar associations are concerned about the impact on public faith in the judiciary and have called for a reconsideration of the transfer decision.
A bench headed by Justice Aftab Alam dismissed a PIL filed by an advocate who was junior to Sen when he was a practicing lawyer.
The decision was taken at a meeting Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had with Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal.
In further trouble for beleaguered Karnataka Chief Justice P D Dinakaran, a petition seeking impeachment proceedings against him was moved by as many as 76 Rajya Sabha members on Monday.
Tainted Calcutta high court Judge Soumitra Sen will face impeachment proceedings in Parliament with government accepting the chief justice of India's recommendation to the prime minister for his removal on charges of serious financial "misconduct", the second-ever such action against a member of the higher judiciary.
High court judge Yashwant Varma has denied before the SC-appointed inquiry panel his involvement in the discovery of huge cache of burnt currency notes from a storeroom in his official residence. A fire broke out at the judge's official bungalow at 30 Tughlak Crescent on the night of March 14, leading the cash discovery.
Members of the opposition escalated their criticism of Yoon, with some threatening to initiate impeachment proceedings against the president.
Decks were on Wednesday cleared for impeachment proceedings against Calcutta high court judge Soumitra Sen with a judicial committee set up by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari finding him guilty of misappropriating "large sums" of funds and making false statement regarding it.
'Something very drastic must have happened.'
A look at the legal provisions governing the removal of the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and Election Commissioners (ECs) in India, amid threats from opposition parties.